Roman regained consciousness, coming to with a few harsh coughs and groans. He felt pain shooting through his sides, and figured he had a few broken ribs courtesy of his new friend, Timothy. Since watching Carter put a bullet in Stacy's head on the plane, Roman had been trying to devise a way to take down Carter and get away. That only resulted in Timothy getting the upper-hand with a metal baseball bat, knocking Roman out. Now, his eyes were open, though he couldn't see anything in the pitch-black room. He knew he was dangling several feet off the ground by chains on his hands. Thankfully, the pain in his abdomen distracted him from the pain in his arms. His wrists were raw from the metal, so he tried his best to remain still to prevent further friction.

Footsteps entered the room.

"Hello?" Roman called out. "Yo, man, you don't have to do this, all right? I have money. Millions. I can give you whatever you want."

Suddenly, extremely bright lights flickered on in waves, illuminating the massive, but empty airplane hangar. Further inspection revealed that Roman was hanging off the back wing of the flight he initially boarded for LA.

"Whoa. Easy there, Mr. Pearce," Carter said, holding Roman's dangling legs still. "I know you're impatient, but the party's just getting started."

"What do you want from me, man? Money?"

Carter snorted, "Roman, I have money. More money than I can count. I don't want your money," Carter paced slowly in front of Roman. "All I've ever tried to do was provide for my family. For ten years of my life, I was humiliated, emasculated, and denied the right to take care of my own. That's partially your fault," Carter waved in Timothy, who was pushing inside a catering tray toppled with torturing tools, including blades, duct-tape, brass knuckles, and butane torches. Carter slowly removed his blazer and draped it over the tray, rolling up the sleeves to his dark shirt afterwards.

Roman looked at the cart with a huge lump in his throat. He watched Carter torture that cop with a rat - by no means was Carter Verone a gentle man. Roman knew he was in trouble.

"Listen, the cops came to me. Offered me an early release on my probation if I helped them. I'm not a cop, man!"

"I don't want to hear your mouth!" Carter yelled, throwing a hard punch into Roman's injured ribs. Roman bit back a whimper as tears formed in his eyes. "Now, you just hang tight. I'm gonna get ahold of Mr. O'Conner, let him know about our little reunion, see if we can get him to join us. Then we'll have some fun."

"Sir, it's charged," Timothy said and handed over Roman's iPhone.

"Great. Let's make some calls."

"How the hell did he get to a CIA agent?" Dom asked. "He's been out for three days! She should've got a heads up, Brian and Rome too."

"No doubt," Tej said, shaking his head at Hobbs.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who dropped the ball here. Agent Fuentes was a damn good operative, and friend. She was taking a few weeks off after her mother's death. Had I known she was in immediate danger..." Hobbs froze and took a deep breath. He was trying to hold back the emotions that came with losing yet another close friend to the job. "She was staying in Jacksonvile at her mother's place. The agent placed with her was also killed. We don't know how he found her, but we think he's on a revenge run."

At this moment, Mia, Leon, Billie, and Rosa entered the house and picked up on the solemn mood. Mia saw her husband's distraught face and hurried over to him.

"What's going on, Bri?" she asked.

"Carter Verone escaped from prison. He killed the woman we worked with on the case, Monica Fuentes," Brian replied. Mia's knees buckled beneath her, but luckily her husband was there to catch her.

"I can't," she shook her head feverishly, "I cannot go through this again, Brian. We cannot do this again, guys!"

"Brian, you and your family need to get out of here. Get somewhere safe," Tej said before he could answer her.

"Call Armando," Dom suggested, "We might need his hide-out."

"Nah, man. I can't go into hiding when Roman's out there like a sitting duck."

"Out where?" Hobbs asked, finally noticing Roman's absence. "Where is Roman?"

"He never made it in. We've been trying him all day with no luck," Mia said.

"I'll get an APB rolling Roman, see if we can find him," Hobbs said, stepping outside to make his calls.

Dom's phone ringing caught his attention. He pulled it from his pocket and froze.

"What is it, Dom?" Oz asked, noticing the look on Dom's face.

"It's Roman," Dom replied. He answered, putting it on speaker for the others to hear. "Rome?"

"Roman's a little... tied up... at the moment. Am I speaking with Dominic Toretto?"

"Who is this?"

"Let's not play dumb, Dominic. You know exactly who I am. And I know who you are. The man who took down Arturo Braga, right?"

"He fucked with my family. I spared his life. If anything happens to Roman, I won't be sparing yours."

"Now, now, Toretto. My beef isn't with you. In fact, I'm a fan of your work. My concern is with Brian O'Conner. I'm calling to speak with him. I can't seem him to reach him on his phone."

Brian frowned as he glanced over at his destroyed phone on the floor.

"Tell me where Roman is," Dom demanded into the phone.

"Roman is fine. But if you don't locate Brian, I'll put a hole in his hard head, then come find him myself."

Dom handed over the phone.

"And take it off speaker, please. That's awfully rude," Carter taunted.

"Carter Verone," he said while holding the phone to his ear ,"How'd you enjoy prison?"

"Not nearly as much as I'm enjoying my freedom right now," Carter snarled. "It's been a while, Brian. Heard you've been making your rounds around the world, taking things that don't belong to you."

"Yeah I've been around. Where's Roman?"

"Your loud-mouthed friend is still in one piece, for now. And honestly, I've already grown tired of his presence so I'm gonna offer you a chance to get him back."

"How do I know you haven't killed him already?" Brian's voice cracked at the thought, "You didn't hesitate killing Monica."

"Oh... you found her," Carter chuckled slightly, "That was more-so a personal vendetta... loose ends, if you will. Here, I'll let you speak with Mr. Pearce."

"Bri?" Roman's weak voice spoke into the phone.

"Rome!" the rest of the room perked up at his name. "Rome, buddy, how you doing, man? You hurt?"

"Few broken ribs, but I'm good. You gotta get me outta here, man."

"I'm coming Rome," Brian spoke, "Hang in there, bro."

Carter got back on the phone, "See? Still alive. Now to business. My daughter has found her way to your neck of the woods, and I need her back. I believe you and I have unfinished business, as well."

"Nah, we don't. And your daughter isn't my problem. You want her, you find her."

"Trust me, Brian. You don't want me to come get her," Carter's voice chilled Brian to his core. He didn't fear any man, but Carter wasn't the man to fuck with. "Brooke seems to have some reservations about coming to see her old man. That's where you come in. I need you to convince her. You do that, and Roman walks with his life."

Frustrated, Brian punched the side of the stainless-steel fridge. "I swear if you touch Roman, you'll be fishing your daughter out of the Pacific Ocean."

"Let's not make threats, O'Conner. You and I both know I'm better at them. I'll contact you tomorrow on where to meet me. Roman isn't my only leverage, Brian, so don't fuck with me."

The line went dead. Hobbs re-entered the house.

"Shit!" Brian yelled. "He wants me to deliver Brooke to him tomorrow. If I don't, Rome's dead, and he won't stop with him. He says he has other leverage."

"APB's rolling on Roman. If he's out there, my boys will find him," Hobbs said reassuringly. "We need to work on tracking that call."

"I'm on it," Billie grabbed the phone from Brian's hands and headed out to her car.

"We can't just hand her over to Carter. What if he kills her?" Oz objected.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Brian said.

"Well I'm not," Oz replied, taking a step in Brian's direction. "I won't let her be handed over to her death."

"Roman is family, and she's Carter's daughter. Rome locked him up for ten years. Who do you think he'll kill first?" Brian yelled in his face.

"Brian's right," Everyone turned to the stairs where Brooke stood at the bottom with Letty at her side. "My father will kill Roman before he will me. He needs me alive."

"What does that mean?" Dom asked.

"Nothing I say is on record," she said sternly to Hobbs, noticing his tactical attire. He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "While my father was locked up, I was recruited to take over. I took the reigns the day of my eighteenth birthday, training under his number two Timothy Valentino - a real piece of shit. My father became even more paranoid than he'd already been, so he had me trained to handle his money exclusively. I overlook all of his personal accounts that haven't been confiscated by the government, mainly offshore accounts, business fronts, and safety deposit boxes. All of it."

"You speak in present-tense... as in you still do?" Tej asked.

Brooke gave a small smile, "All five-hundred million of it. As the conservator of his accounts, I'm the only person allowed to access it, and change the security codes on them. Which I might've done."

"So he can't touch any of his own money?" Dom asked.

She shook her head, "Not without alarming authorities. I would say he's been working with the only account I left the same. There was five million in it, and my guess? He's running low and needs more money to get back to work."

"My question is ... how'd he know you were with us?" Mia asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"He called the shop earlier," Letty finally spoke, still reeling from Brooke dropping the news on her minutes earlier. "He knew exactly where to find her, and knew that she and I have been traveling together. He's following us."

"Or we have a mole," Brian said, glaring in Oz's direction.

"You've got some nerve, cop," Oz spat back.

"Enough!" Dom shouted. He turned to Brooke with smoke billowing from his ears, "You think next time he calls you could give us a heads up? Preferably before he kidnaps or kills someone else," he sneered.

"Of course," she cowered slightly, "If my father is still in the country, he won't be for long. He has sanctuary in Argentina and a long list of men whom he pays well to keep him hidden when he's there. We need to move fast if you want to find Roman alive."

"We? Brooke, you don't-" Oz began to object but she stopped him.

"I do," she said, making her way over to him. She placed a hand softly on his cheek, "I'm the one he wants. I refuse to let anyone here get hurt because of me," Brooke turned to the rest of the group, but her eyes were on Brian and Mia. "I know you guys don't trust me, and I completely understand that. But I need you to believe that I would never do anything to betray Letty, or hurt this family. She's the closest thing I have to family myself."

Letty wanted to believe her, but keeping the call from her father to herself only made Letty trust her less. They had just talked about putting everything out in the open, and being honest, yet Brooke hadn't kept up her end of the deal. Letty knew this lot of people, and if Dom trusted them in his home, then she couldn't believe that any of them would be working for Carter. Which only left Brooke - the outsider.

The outsider that she lived with.

"Listen, let's call it a night," Dom said, running a shaky hand over his head. He was exhausted from the day, and wanted nothing more than a little quiet. The team threw out objections; nobody was ready to leave with Roman out there with Carter.

With her headache heightening, Letty pushed to the center of the frustrated crowd.

"Guys, if you aren't doing anything to help track Roman or think of a plan, go home. We can't do anything for him this late, drunk and stoned," she turned to Brian, whom Mia was trying to console. "Brian, go to bed. Love on your wife and child. Roman's alive right now, and all we can do is pray that doesn't change before tomorrow."

The unhappy brood dispersed, leaving Letty, Dom, Hobbs, and Brooke in the kitchen.

"Glad to see you still got your spunk, Ortiz," Hobbs said with a nod. Letty nodded back, flopping down in a chair.

"You know if we find your father, he doesn't go back to jail, right?" Dom said to Brooke.

Brooke shook her head slowly, "I know what needs to be done."

"And you're okay with that?" Hobbs asked her.

Brooke looked at Letty with somber eyes, "I told you: Letty's the only family I have. Do what you have to do to get your friend back."

Letty gazed at Brooke and wondered if it had all been a game. Spending the past two years attached to each other, the bond they formed along the way... had it all been a ruse to get closer to Brian? The younger girl hardly talked about her life before Mexico, and frankly, Letty didn't care. She didn't want to talk about her past, either. But had she known Brooke's life would come torpedoing in their direction so violently, Letty would've pushed to know more about her.

Oz peaked his head in the back door, "You ready?"

Brooke nodded, grabbing her purse near the door and shouldering it. "I'm gonna stay the night with Oz, tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved goodbye to Dom and Hobbs before disappearing out the door.

"Watch her," Dom said to Oz, who gave a him a nod.

"Food's smellin' real good.." Hobbs trailed off, looking between Letty and the fridge.

"Hope you're not expecting me to make you a plate," she smirked, "Help yourself."

Hobbs didn't hesitate to move over to the fridge, pulling out leftovers from earlier. Dom turned to Letty and frowned. She looked worn down and stressed. She felt his eyes on her and looked up at him.

"You ready to go home?" he asked softly. Letty nodded, running her hands through her hair. She honestly felt like her head would explode any second. "I'm gonna pull the car around."

"I can drive, Dom," she said to his back.

"I know," he smiled a bit before whistling for Ginger, who eagerly followed him out of the house.

Hobbs watched the exchange between the two. He saw the way she stared after Dom, even after he was long gone. He liked them together - she was just as ballsy as Dominic, and Hobbs always liked a woman with a quick tongue and an even quicker right hook.

"Hey," he said, "How's it feel to be back?"

"It's a gift and a curse," she sighed, "Still getting into the swing of things."

"How's the head? Memories still coming back?"

She nodded, "The migraines haven't stopped, but neither have the flashbacks. Like I said, gift and curse."

"Well being home with family should straighten you out," he said with a smile.

"Hopefully. One of my stipulations of staying was no more jobs. Guess it was a good thought."

"This isn't a job, Letty. This is a rescue mission. We get Roman, we put Carter down, and we get out. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And we just pretend like that 500 million doesn't exist?" she asked skeptically. "Goodnight Luke."

"You heading home?" Dom asked him.

"Nah," Hobbs flopped down in a seat on the porch and kicked his feet up, "I'm gonna hang out here a while. Make sure everything is clear." He held up his pistol, assuring Dom that he was on guard.

Dom nodded and sped off the sand and onto the road to LA. The ride was silent - neither was in the mood for talking. Instead, Dom held his palm open to her, fiending for her touch again. Letty obliged, placing her hand in his, and they remained that way until they reached Letty's home.

"You gonna be alright by yourself?" he asked while pulling into the driveway.

"I haven't slept in an empty house in a while," she said, looking up at the house nervously.

"I'll stay a while," he offered and she gave a thankful nod.

They headed inside, where Letty immediately began undressing on her way to the bedroom. She didn't care if Dom was watching - which he was. Down to her black panties and bra, Letty headed for her dresser to find something comfortable to sleep in. Dom stood in the doorway and watched as she unclasped her bra, making sure to keep her back to him as she flung the garment onto the floor.

"You know Oz won't let us give Brooke up," he said, "Not without a fight."

"Well he doesn't have a choice. Roman is family. He's not being sacrificed over some girl," Letty said while sleeping a t-shirt over her bare chest.

"Letty," he said softly, "She isn't just some girl. She's your best friend."

"She's also a liar," Letty retorted, brushing past him out the door. He followed her out onto the back patio, where she retrieved the other half of the joint she had stashed in the windowsill. "What if Brian's right? Maybe she is the mole."

"Do you really believe that? Or are you just angry because she didn't tell you about the call?" he stood behind her chair, massaging her shoulders gently as she puffed away her migraine.

She held the hit in, exhaling as the pressure began to release off her skull. His hands on her shoulders felt great, and she relaxed even more against his touch.

"Lying by omission is still lying. She told me that once," Letty said. "She never mentioned her father being a crime kingpin, and she didn't mention him calling today. A call that could've given us a head-start on finding Carter, and maybe even warning Roman. This is her fault."

She held the joint up to him, unsure if he'd take it. Surprisingly, he took the spliff between his fingers and sat down next to her chair.

"When did you start smoking weed?" he asked with a chuckle while taking a small hit.

"Leon uses it for his leg. He figured it'd help with the migraines. He was right," she smiled. "You gonna rat me out to Dino, Mia?"

Dom smiled. He remembered their rebellious teenage years of underage drinking and smoking pot, and how Mia always threatened to snitch to their dad when she wasn't allowed to partake.

"I won't tell if you won't," he grinned, passing back the joint. "If she's telling the truth, we have to be on our toes about the company we keep. Everyone is a suspect until they aren't."

"And if she is the mole?"

"Send her off with her father... in a box," Dom said sternly. He took another hit off the joint before handing it back to her and standing to his feet. "Come on, let's get you in bed."

Letty stubbed out the joint and flicked the butt away before following Dom back inside. She felt more relieved than she had all day and was anxious to crawl in bed with him. And a replay of the scene from the night before occurred again; Letty sat snuggled in bed as she watched him undress down to his navy blue boxer briefs.

"I'm starting to like those briefs," she murmured with a smirk.

Dom grinned and crawled in behind her, pulling her body flush against his. Letty happily cuddled close to him, allowing his warmth to envelop her. She wasn't sure if it was the pot clouding her judgment, but she rolled onto her side to face him. He stared into her eyes and felt completely naked under her gaze. Her red-rimmed eyes scanned his face, taking in the beauty that was Dominic. He smiled wide.

"What're you grinning about?" she asked.

"I think Ginger likes me," he said childishly.

Letty chuckled a bit, "She's a better judge of people than I am. She seems to have taken a liken to you."

"What if she didn't? Would that mean no us?"

"Absolutely, because my dog is in complete control of all of my relationships."

The two laughed, and it helped them forget about the madness that was once again surrounding their lives. In this moment - stoned and riding an adrenaline high - they laughed. For Dom, it was as if their relationship never skipped a beat and they were back in the Toretto home, curled up in his bed, laughing at the antics of their family. For Letty, it was new. She and Owen never shared silly moments together while cuddled in bed. Hell, they never cuddled. But she felt comfortable with Dom. Natural.

"I'm so glad you're back," he said with a smile. Letty's hand moved to rest on his chest, her thumb gently stroking across his cheek. She felt happy to be back, too, though she didn't say it. Instead, she leaned forward and crashed her lips down onto his, the anticipation finally taking over.

Her heart immediately went into a faster rhythm from the feeling of his lips against hers. She had wanted all day to indulged in him, but tried to adhere to her own advice of taking it slow. But those baby steps were a bitch and her inhibitions melted away.

He didn't hesitate to reciprocate the passion that she exuded. Dominic's hand moved to her hip and his fingers dipped beneath her shirt to feel the soft skin. The temptation to taste her had been irking him all day, but the time had never been right. But now, Letty was out of her shell and vulnerable.

Fireworks seemed to explode over them. In seconds, Letty's body was on fire and she wanted him. She crawled on top of him, his hardened crotch not holding back in his briefs. She moaned involuntarily as his tongue darted in her mouth, slowly teasing the roof of her mouth. His hands clenched on her hips as she bit down roughly on his lip. Dom quickly sat up against the headboard and pulled her closer, with her legs clenching around his hips. Letty's arms wrapped around his neck, massaging the back of his bald head with her fingertips. He could feel his privates growing increasingly stiff the longer she sat pressed firmly against them. Thankfully, she finally pulled away; he was close to ripping that t-shirt off of her.

Letty's forehead pressed against his as they both panted breathlessly.

"Finally," he murmured with a grin. "What took you so long?"

"Shut up," she smirked, taking another nibble at his lip. "Now that felt familiar."

Dom growled low in his throat as his hands roamed to her ass, squeezing hard. He could see the lust flaming in her red eyes. His dick felt like it was on fire, and by the wetness he felt through her panties, he knew she was experiencing the same passion. He craved her, but he knew he couldn't.

"As much as I hate to say it, you need to get some rest. We got a big day tomorrow."

"It doesn't feel like you want to rest," she whispered.

"Trust me, I don't," he grabbed either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "But I don't want you to regret this when you're sober, either."

She smiled, placing her hands over his, "Dom, I know what I'm doing."

"I know, but we said slow and steady. No danger. No rush."

Letty understood what he was saying, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Then you might want to remove your hands from my ass if you don't want to cross the point of no return," she grinned. His hands let up, and she crawled back onto the bed, sprawled out on her back. "I appreciate the gentleman-like gesture and all, but you're a fucking tease, Dominic."

It took a while, but Billie was finally able to retrace the call from Roman's phone. She grabbed her laptop and hurried out of her car back towards the house. She realized Dom was already gone, but figured she could wake Brian to give him the update. Running towards the steps, she was taken aback by Hobbs sitting on the porch, stuffing his face with leftovers.

"Hey," said Billie. "Any one still here?"

"Brian and Mia went to bed. I'm the only one left," he rubbed the food crumbs away from his hands and nodded at her computer, "What'd you find?"

"Carter. Sort of," she moved to sit on the steps a few feet away. "His last call, the one to Dom's phone, pinged off a tower near Barstow, California. Isn't that where Brian and Roman are originally from?"

"If I'm not mistaken," he replied. "That's close."

"No shit. I did some research to see if they had any acquaintances still there - Hobbs, Brian's mother Kelly Mullins still lives in Barstow, as well as Roman's dad, Roger Pearce. Carter said he had leverage - it has to be their parents."

"Shit. I need you to text me all the information," he stood and holstered his weapon, making his way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To Barstow."